US car company General Motors has been formally approved as a Formula 1 engine supplier for the 2029 season.
The development, announced jointly by governing body the FIA and General Motors, is the first time a specific year has been put on the debut of GM's engine.
Last month, GM's new team was approved to compete under its luxury Cadillac brand. Cadillac will make its debut as a team next year, and will use Ferrari engines until GM's own engine is ready.
The GM entry was approved by the FIA, but commercial rights holder F1 initially rejected it at the beginning of 2024. Instead of the US-based Andretti racing organization with GM funding, it was approved by F1 after the project was reconstituted as an official Cadillac entry. To design and manufacture its new power unit, GM has established a new engine company. BBC Sport was informed by a GM representative that the company was committed to making an F1 engine "ready by (the) end of the decade." "Although the process was at times challenging, the progress we see today affirms the journey has been worthwhile," said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. "Welcoming GM Performance Power Units LLC. as an approved power unit supplier for the championship starting in 2029 marks another step in the global expansion of Formula 1 and highlights the growing interest from world-class automotive manufacturers like General Motors." "Welcoming GM Performance Power Units LLC." Under current F1 rules, the 2029 season will run to the new engine regulations that are being introduced for next year and are set to run until the end of 2030.
These use a revised version of the 1.6-litre turbo hybrid engines employed by F1 since 2014, but simplified in their technology while increasing the proportion of power provided by the electrical part of the engine to about 50% from the 20% currently.
Ben Sulayem's proposal to introduce V10 naturally aspirated engines before the end of the next rules cycle was rejected by F1 engine manufacturers two weeks ago. The meeting agreed to keep talking about the future of F1 engines with the prospect that the rules may be revised before 2031.
This could mean a simpler, cheaper engine of a different layout, for example a V8, could be introduced as early as 2029.
Discussions as to what that may look like are at an early stage, including such considerations as to whether the engines would continue to be turbocharged.
However, the manufacturers pledged to incorporate hybrid technology into F1 engine technology in the future.
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